Those who inspire, those I adore

As a reader, a writer, and a student of the written word, I have spent countless hours enjoying and analyzing stories. I, as many others, agree that there is no "new" idea. But, there is new expression, new voices, new vocabularies, and new spins on those old stories. These are the elements for which I look with anticipation in reading. When many underline unfamiliar words or mark important plot and character passages, I highlight beautiful ones that may hold no higher significance. Therefore, my favorite authors are a boundless list of obscure and celebrated names, who happened at least for a time to express something in a way that captivated me, emotionally, intellectually, or aesthetically. These men and women are authors not because they put words on a page or a copyright symbol by their name, though I am discounting those definitions, but because they have some mastery of not only content understanding, but of expression that allows them to convey information or stories more effectively or brilliantly than others, however subjective that label of author may then be.